Free range meat

[Altari]

Alright, I don't do Paleo. I'm sorry, I'm an invading force. :wave:

But, I'm hoping some of the more-meat-eaters of the board can direct to me to a reputable place to buy no hormone/antibiotic [unless necessary], exclusively free range meat. I'm specifically looking for beef and chicken, but if there's a way to "graze" a pig I guess that would work, too.

I'm honestly considering taking up deer hunting with my neighbor. I've never [intentionally] killed an animal in my life, but kind of think I should put my ethics where my mouth is and do the deed with my own hands [or arrow, or slug, I'm quite the shot with a 20 gauge].

I did do a search on the topic, but didn't find much. Maybe I just didn't look hard enough?

So, any advice on both fronts would be appreciated.

[Kansas Deb]

Here is a couple. You didn't say where you are. I have heard good things about US Wellness Meats (http://www.grasslandbeef.com/StoreFront.bok), Slankers Grassfed Meats (http://www.texasgrassfedbeef.com/) and the website Eat Wild (http://www.eatwild.com/index.html) is good to find someplace near where you live. I found a place that is less than 1 hour away that has grass finished beef and lamb, free range chickens and eggs and raw milk, butter and cheese.

[Altari]

I'm in Illinois (between Rockford and Chicago) so mail order is what I'm looking for. This state is ridiculous when it comes to meat/dairy products.

[capmikee]

Sounds like you've got a good headstart with the hunting option. I'd love to learn, but there aren't a lot of opportunities here in Philadelphia.

My impression is that you can get a lot more mileage out of a deer if you know how to butcher it yourself - a butcher's shop might only give you a couple pounds of roasts, whereas you could potentially end up with lots of organs, bones, and fat if you do it yourself. I'm not even sure if it's legal for a butcher to give you brains and eyes and stuff like that.

Where are you located? Some areas like mine have really incredible farmer's markets where you can just walk up and buy pastured pork, chicken, beef and lamb, and occasionally bison and game birds. Other areas are not so lucky.

Wherever you are, you could probably raise yourself a handful of chickens. If you're in the city it won't be enough to eat the birds, but you can at least get eggs.

As for what to ask for, "pastured" is usually the most reliable term. "Free range" doesn't mean much for chickens and some people say "grass-fed" doesn't count for beef if it's grain-finished (I'm not convinced on that one, though). Some farmers let their pigs range outside where they root for, well, roots, among other things. Any book featuring Joel Salatin (The Omnivore's Dilemma, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved, Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal) will explain the most sustainable modern methods of raising livestock.

[Altari]

We're considering chickens. We can't do it at our home, but my parents have 2 acres out in the township so we may put up a chicken coup. There's potential legal trouble with the covenant, as it forbids livestock, but there hasn't been an active association there for 30 years...but that's off topic.

What I'm looking for isn't "grass finished." I want cows that are let to pasture to graze whenever they want and supplemented with only organically grown grains during the off season. There's a local milk company that has those requirements for their cattle herds, but Illinois is so restrictive on meat packing it's hard to find meat produced that way.

The local egg farm sells chickens that are led out to graze and fed home-ground, home-grown corn/soy feed. But they do such a small business the chickens are $8 per live pound (ouch) and they're egg chickens, not roasters.

[capmikee]

Deb sounds like she's onto a good thing with Eat Wild. I tried it and came up with several ranches in Illinois. If you have a chest freezer you could probably go visit one and bring home a couple hundred pounds of meat.

http://www.eatwild.com/products/illinois.html

[capmikee]

It definitely pays to go for organs and other unpopular cuts. I get most of my regular cuts from a good butcher who sells mostly CAFO meat, but when I get my stock bones and organs, I go to the farmer's market. I've developed a liking for pork shoulder roast, which is the cheapest cut of pork the farmers have.

You might hit up that local egg farm for some old laying hens ("stewers" or "soup chickens") for making stock. It's the season right now. Don't try to eat the meat though - it'll be tough as leather.

[tiredangel]

I have six stewing hens coming to me tomorrow . . . can't wait. $8 a bird which isn't bad really. It's from the same farmer I get my dairy and eggs from. Grass finished, I believe, diferenciates between grass and grain finished. All cows are pastured for most of their lives -- it's just the final few months that they're put into a feedlot and fed grain (grain finished) or not (grass finished).

[Nancy LC]

Free range meat? Such a bargain! That stuff is usually very expensive. :lol:

[jem51]

eatwild has never let me down....no matter where i live.

[Wyvrn]

Can't help you out with Illinois, but if anyone is in the Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia area, Thundering Hooves (http://thunderinghooves.net/) has served us well.